The Buffalo Bills improved to 6-1 following their 36-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Week 8.
The Ravens were forced to play without quarterback Lamar Jackson, as he left the game following the first play (thumb). Later, his backup Tyler Huntley exited the game due to injury, leaving it up to rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano for the bulk of the game.
Buffalo took advantage of the Ravens offensive issues and held Baltimore to just 10 points and 144 total yards.
The Bills got off to a hot start offensively, scoring on their opening drive, but failed to do much ahead of halftime. However, they got into a rhythm in the second half and cruised to their third consecutive win.
Below is my stock up and down from the win:
Stock Up
QB Josh Allen
Josh Allen once again did what he had to do to get the Bills a win. Allen completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 289 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also got involved on the ground, rushing for 30 yards on seven attempts along with a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
He finished with a 96.3 passer rating and accounted for three of Buffalo’s four total touchdowns.
Allen admitted that he was “pressing early” in the first half of the game but he settled in and led the Bills to three touchdown drives in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, Allen fired an 11-yard touchdown to DJ Moore, which broke the Bills franchise record for career passing touchdowns, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly’s record of 258. Allen now has 260 and counting.
RB James Cook
James Cook was once again the workhorse back, carrying the ball 21 times for 80 yards and a five-yard touchdown dash that pushed the Bills lead to 13 late in the third.
Cook also got involved through the air, recording two receptions for 21 yards.
The biggest thing was keeping the chains moving and not turning the ball over, and Cook kept the kitchen clean, having no fumbles and averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
The pair of Allen and Cook continue to be a threat for every defense.
WR DJ Moore
Moore’s first game back from injury after missing two in a row was impactful. In his return, Moore finished with four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown.
The big play came in the third quarter when Allen connected with Moore on a 49-yard bomb to set Cook up for the score.
Moore’s 11-yard touchdown reception late in the game was the one that helped put Allen over the franchise record. He had a knee scare on a fourth-down conversion but later told reporters he was fine, and all smiles after the win.
Having Moore back in the offense clearly helps Allen out a ton and adds another element to the Bills passing game.
K Tyler Bass
Tyler Bass! This man is not getting enough love. He has been perfect on field goals this season, and this game was no different. Bass drilled all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 56-yarder, and converted all of his extra point attempts.
Bass is now 16-for-16 on field goals this season and has been a reliable leg for Buffalo all season.
Secondary
The Bills secondary had a bounce-back game against the Ravens this week. Rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun recorded his first career interception in the second quarter off a Geno Stone deflection.
Buffalo completely shut out receiver Zay Flowers, who entered this week among the NFL leaders in receiving yards. He finished with zero catches on five targets.
With safety CJ Gardner-Johnson out, Damar Hamlin was forced to play in place of him, with a nice rotation of reserve guys playing, including Te’Cory Couch and Geno Stone, who both played well.
Even though it was against a third-string quarterback, the Bills defense took a step forward and improved coming out of the bye week.
Jim Leonhard’s defense
Jim Leonahrd’s defense played very well, forcing three turnovers, recording four sacks, and limiting Baltimore to just 144 total yards and converting just three of their 13 third downs.
Greg Rousseau had multiple pressures off the edge, including colliding with Jackson’s thumb on the first play for Baltimore. The entire unit played with more of an attacking mindset, with linebackers like Dorian Williams shooting the gap and stopping the run.
We needed to see this type of performance out of the defensive unit after allowing 29 or more points in five of the first six games of the season.
Something to note is Leonhard called the game from the box for the first time this season, and the result seemed to have worked coming out of the bye.
Stock Down
Joe Brady play management
Head coach Joe Brady’s play calling in the first half was very lackluster; the offense left too many points on the field.
After the opening touchdown drive, Buffalo was forced to settle for three field goals and struggled to sustain anything offensively.
The play calling was all over the place in the first half, going against what works and trying to be “too cute” as some mentioned. The sweep to Allen on the one-yard line was not needed; stick with the 1-yard push.
The halftime adjustments got the Bills offense back on track and seemed to be a well-oiled machine coming out of the break.
Turnovers
Buffalo did not play their cleanest game, committing two turnovers, including an interception from Allen off the hands of tight end Jackson Hawes, which was converted into a touchdown.
Moore had a turnover in the first half as well, getting the ball punched out by linebacker Roquan Smith and recovered by Ravens cornerback T.J. Tampa.
A few miscues early in the first half kept Baltimore in this game when they simply shouldn’t have been.
Penalties
The Bills continue to have a penalty issue, committing 10 penalties against Baltimore for 87 yards. Many of the penalties have been in the red zone, right as the offense is finding their rhythm.
First-half output
Buffalo had a 16-7 lead at halftime, but the product was not on full display. The first touchdown on the opening drive was the only touchdown in the first half, while a turnover led to a Derrick Henry score, which let Baltimore hang around.
Allen acknowledged the early struggles and how the unit looked out of sync in the first half.
The halftime adjustments from Brady and company were much needed headed into the second half.
Keon Coleman usage
While the offense as a whole played a good game, the usage of Keon Coleman was not enough. Coleman finished with just one reception for four yards on three targets.
Even with the return of DJ Moore, Coleman still saw a high snap count against Baltimore, but it did not come his way often.
Allen overthrew him on a deep shot that could have been a huge play for Buffalo, possibly even a score on third down.
The utilization of Keon Coleman alongside DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir is even more important now following the injury to Joshua Palmer on Sunday.